Happy Pride Month!

[amyselia 2962]

1 hour ago, Kholibrii said:

 

I'm going to have to agree with @Velkuzat that banning all homophobic RP is an odd move. While there are people who have experienced RP homophobia based on someone's OOC beliefs, I feel like it would be a much better policy to police OOC motivated homophobic RP rather than outright ban all instances of the RP.

 

As a Gay man, I believe there is a lot of enjoyment to be had and though provoking experiences earned from homophobic role-play. Stories exploring the guilt, shame, disgust, alienation, etc felt by queer people as they processed their identity has been a staple of queer media for decades and can help deconstruct the emotions queer people have felt in their own lives. 

 

While I can see why this decision was made, I feel that the admins should reconsider and focus on removing OOCly homophobic people from LOTC rather than removing a tool for queer people to process complex emotions.

 

While I can't speak for the desire to explore these themes since I'm not gay, I can't say that I've ever seen anyone on LotC faithfully depict these types of deeply introspective/raw experiences and I honestly think its impossible given the nature of LotC. You would have to delve into uncomfortably dark roleplay to mirror the psychological nuances of irl homophobia that queer authors bring to life. At most, LotC homophobia is a caricature of homophobia, just like rp sexism has often been a caricature of sexism (cover ur shoulders wench etc), because anything beyond base-level conflict would become icky as hell to witness and is hence avoided. We have to remember that this server is an online space that invites a lot of minors sensitive to these issues, as well as a lot of people who rp as a form of escapism. The typical new player is not expecting a gruesome medieval experience, actually they just want to be a frolicking magical elf or an edgelord mercenary getting revenge for orcs killing their parents.

[MapleSunflower 1889]

2 hours ago, Josh3738 said:

 

We discussed including sexism at length in drafting up this rule. The way I've tended to put it is that, of these big 4, the first 3 are fairly easily definable. You'll know it when you see it kind of thinking. The 4th, sexism, has some more nuance to it, and we wanted to take some more time to think on it and refine this with its inclusion when we're done.

If you’re going to take a moment and discuss further about how you want to proceed, I highly recommend talking with the people of the server. Talk to women, talk to men, talk to non-binary folk. Understand the micro-aggressions and bigger signals of the issue that appears.

 

Maybe LOTC is better than it was 3 years ago when I joined, but that was still 3 years ago. The roleplay experience of sexism I faced still remains ripe in my mind; You’ll get good examples of what kinds of rp is an issue from people who have actually deal with it. Talk with people you don’t know, go to every community, and take your time to make an educated decision and a well-thought-out decision on what sexism RP rules will look like. 

[monkeypoacher 8055]

11 minutes ago, Crevel said:

 

It does actually. https://www.lordofthecraft.net/safety/

 

did you notice i wrote the word "didn't" in past tense

 

the safety rules were written after someone made a public report about their harasser.

 

you would do the same thing if you

a) had evidence

b) had a reasonable suspicion that someone was being actively harmed and not a google doc with a bunch of links to people's logs

 

if people are being punished for reporting actual harm then why are you on here arguing about the boundaries of rp homophobia? why are you here at all? I would quit and escalate to a third party who would actually do something about it, like the hosting provider or law enforcement

 

[Solour 526]

3 minutes ago, iris1612 said:

i am both gay and trans irl.

The rule is obviously well-intentioned, and some types of this rp  (for instance using rp as an outlet for OOC bigotry, or saying slurs) should be banned. But I don't think that transphobia and homophobia should be outright banned irp.

 

I personally enjoy rping in socially conservative places: most of my characters are gay in a society that is not openly tolerant of homosexuality, and that's part of their story and what makes them interesting to me. I think people should be allowed to roleplay characters who are prejudiced, as long as they are doing so maturely and understanding that the prejudice makes their character a villain.

I welcome this as a rule banning irp prejudice as a mouthpiece for ooc prejudice, but I am a little sad to see more limits on the types of stories that can be told on this medium.

 

yep good ol iris w/ facts. i guess some people simbly cannot differentiate irl and rp. its that simple, js do it well and all is well. its not like being blatantly hateful was not already against the rules.

 

i cant call my friend and yours too@BrightLightsa slur irp and murderhobo because i would be banned!! there were already rules for that. blanket banning all associated rp is a very lazy and poorly thought out approach!!

[Fluffy Horror 496]

@Ramon4chan is hyperbole. But I've been playing in Burgundy, Numendil, Koyo-Kunj, Norland, Canonism, Druids... It's the worst in the official Discord servers, a lot of distasteful stuff. I've had to drop out of public VCs a few times because of it, and I avoid a lot of the shit posting channels. It might be worse because I'm playing a member of a visible racial minority- On my second day in I got attacked for being allegedly Hyspian when I wasn't of Hyspian heritage at all, just dark skinned. It was either metagaming or racism. 🤷‍♀️

[ViewerDiscretion_ 248]

Disappointing as a queer member of the community to see vague and redundant rules like this. I enjoy the RP opportunities presented by lore-bound discrimination, whether that stem from international tensions, ethnic tensions within races, etc. To me, RPing as a marginalized character is fun, whether through the intrigue inherent to a secret romance or the triumph of reaching a high position in government despite facing discrimination along the way.

I agree that protections must exist to create a safe environment for the community to thrive. However, I sincerely believe that this is a step in the wrong direction.

 

I know others are already expressing this sentiment, so TL;DR, big ups to these guys:

30 minutes ago, Vikenz said:

Terrible implementation that is going to destroy years of Lore. If it's an issue, just ban the oocly homophobic people, but rp is rp. 

 

14 minutes ago, iris1612 said:

i am both gay and trans irl.

The rule is obviously well-intentioned, and some types of this rp  (for instance using rp as an outlet for OOC bigotry, or saying slurs) should be banned. But I don't think that transphobia and homophobia should be outright banned irp.

 

I personally enjoy rping in socially conservative places: most of my characters are gay in a society that is not openly tolerant of homosexuality, and that's part of their story and what makes them interesting to me. I think people should be allowed to roleplay characters who are prejudiced, as long as they are doing so maturely and understanding that the prejudice makes their character a villain.

I welcome this as a rule banning irp prejudice as a mouthpiece for ooc prejudice, but I am a little sad to see more limits on the types of stories that can be told on this medium.

 

 

[Ramon 5186]

1 minute ago, Fluffy Horror said:

@Ramon4chan is hyperbole. But I've been playing in Burgundy, Numendil, Koyo-Kunj, Norland, Canonism, Druids... It's the worst in the official Discord servers, a lot of distasteful stuff. I've had to drop out of public VCs a few times because of it, and I avoid a lot of the shit posting channels. It might be worse because I'm playing a member of a visible racial minority- On my second day in I got attacked for being allegedly Hyspian when I wasn't of Hyspian heritage at all, just dark skinned. It was either metagaming or racism. 🤷‍♀️

did u also see the other question?

[Crevel 7557]

6 minutes ago, monkeypoacher said:

 

did you notice i wrote the word "didn't" in past tense

 

the safety rules were written after someone made a public report about their harasser.

 

you would do the same thing if you

a) had evidence

b) had a reasonable suspicion that someone was being actively harmed and not a google doc with a bunch of links to people's logs

 

if people are being punished for reporting actual harm then why are you on here arguing about the boundaries of rp homophobia? why are you here at all? I would quit and escalate to a third party who would actually do something about it, like the hosting provider or law enforcement

 

 

It sounds like you think the issue that I'm raising is grooming-related which it isn't. My issue and the issue that many others have is characters on LotC being used in NSFW manners off-platform which is effectively the same as ERP on-platform but are able to get away with it just because it's not on the server itself. Characters used for roleplay on LotC shouldn't be used in those ways because that isn't what the server and the community is about. The issue isn't necessarily about the harm it brings to people, that being said I do think this larger degree of separation could definitely help minimise harm by preventing romance RP between characters from going further on discord because players would want to distance themselves from being banned for how they use their character off-platform.

I'm also not talking about the boundaries of homophobia; I'm talking primarily about the boundaries of fantasy racism until you diverged because this is a fantasy server.

[Fluffy Horror 496]

@RamonI got so distracted by the second question that I didn't remember the first.

 

I don't think it's that hard to pivot away from homophobia in a fictional religion. For the people worried about how it will work, I kind of wonder what personal gameplay this rule is affecting that makes them so anxious about it? And are these good faith arguments, or bad faith arguments in an innocuous disguise? Or perhaps, ignorance of the nuances of homophobia and transphobia? Either way, I'm not in their heads so I can't say, but it does net some side eye from me that THAT is what some people are worried about.

[NightcastorKitty 2779]

Maybe gender pearls will finally be a thing then instead of adamantly denied for years until it was forgotten about. 

[TaraJess 2848]

1 hour ago, FarrStar said:

So how does this work with cultures and nations that rely on blood for nobility and leadership? Does that automatically call for a ban if they won't allow a gay heir to inherit, since they can't have children with their partner?

 

I am not a lore writer, so people do feel free to come at me on this. im dividing this up into two parts

 

first, i think staff should 100% figure out this question in particular, it was a big point brought up in the vc. as someone who fully supports this new rule change, I am also curious as to how this would work. will people be banned for telling a player, 'no you cannot be heir or play a queer character because we need the bloodline to continue'? that is a question that needs to be answered. my next comment is an idea im gonna throw out that could possibly remedy that issue.

 

again, hi, not a lore writer, just throwing an idea out there. in the sims 4 they added an option to 'make a science baby'. this option basically takes the genes from both parents (despite their gender) and makes a baby with both genes. the baby then magically appears at the sims house and is biologically the child of both sims. AGAIN IM NOT A LORE WRITER IM SORRY, could that one day be an option that could solve this issues that the question above asks? Genetically, the child carries on the bloodline, and nobody has to get shot for telling someone 'no you cannot play a queer character AND be an heir'

 

god i hope this comment does not make me sound insane.

[indiana105 5126]

I highly doubt anyone is capable of portraying a deeply nuanced homophobe while simultaneously being Minecraft Steve 

[----- 838]

On a surface level, this is a good change.

It's obvious a lot of people are carrying out their real-life prejudices when they engage in this sort of roleplay and that should not be allowed at all; however, I know this type of roleplay can be done tastefully and changing rules (and retconning lore) surrounding these topics erases so much lore that has been built by countless players over a span of 13 years.

It also encourages a weird self-insert behavior that has become really prevalent in the last few years. If you feel personally attacked because some stranger pretending to be a fantasy character in Minecraft was mean to the character you're playing, maybe prioritize your mental health and find another hobby. Grow up. You are not your character and your character's hardships are not your own.

I can't ignore the obvious over-sanitization of the server and I think I've outgrown this community.

[Vikenz 1162]

 

36 minutes ago, Pearlescent said:

Making people feel safe so very terrible...

Ban the real life homophobes who solely come onto the server to be homophobic. 

34 minutes ago, sarahbarah said:

 

perhaps the lore on a minecraft fantasy roleplay server should not be homophobic in the first place

People are too parasocial with their characters and use this game to escape from reality, which isn't healthy whatsoever. However, that's a whole other issue, My personal issue is the years of lore that have been played for several years a certain way is being forced to conform is just kinda crazy to me. I believe the server should be a safe space, but banning the people who are actively homophobic and portray that through their character will fix that issue. 

[Dramatude 861]